Prior to the construction of the bridge, it was difficult and at times impossible to cross the St. Lawrence River during the long winter season, as freezing and thawing in the fall and spring made for treacherous conditions.

Crossings took place by boat during the summer, and by walking or riding a sleigh or cart over the frozen river in winter, along routes cleared of snow to facilitate passage.

The contractors were the English partnership of Peto, Brassey and Betts, who completed the bridge shortly after Stephenson's death in 1859.

During its peak construction years a total of six steamboats, 72 barges, 3,040 men (of which there were several children between the ages of 8 and 12), 144 horses, and four locomotive engines were required to build it at a cost of $6,600,000.

The construction of the bridge was tied directly with that of the Grand Trunk Railway, a system headquartered in Britain which had been formed in 1852 with the support of the colonial government of the United Province of Canada to connect the Great Lakes with an ice-free port on the Atlantic Ocean (at Portland, Maine).

The engineers designing the new structure came to the conclusion that the striking stability and condition of the masonry piers would carry the new bridge with but slight alteration.

During the morning rush hour, from 5:00 am to 9:00 am,[2] both lanes of the Victoria Bridge are used to travel north,[note 1] from the residential suburb of Saint-Lambert to the business districts of Montreal.